It was just a dream or was it?
by millbank
Summary: i don't own any of the characters, ruth wakes up from yet another dream but is it soon to become reality? will show its higher rating in later chapters. RH fluff/smut!
1. Chapter 1

i They were walking back from the grid together hand in hand to her house, they passed by Juliet but she was on the phone and didn't seem to see them.

"Harry, promise me you like me more than Juliet."

"Of course I do, I've just walked all the way home hand in hand with you, what we have is something special"

He leaned in to kiss her and whispered her name.

"Ruth, I love you" /i 

She woke up sweating and stretched out her hand to the other side of the bed, it was empty and cold, she couldn't help but be upset at the fact her dream was not a reality.


	2. Chapter 2

She left for work at the normal time and when she got to the office she was surprised to see everyone else was already assembled in the briefing room, that was when she realised that after waking from her fantasy she had forgotten to check her phone. She knocked on the briefing room door before slowing sliding it open.

"How nice of you to join us Ruth, please take a seat" muttered Harry sarcastically,

"I'm sorry it's just that, that the buses were a bit dodgy on the way in." was all Ruth could manage as she slid into the only empty seat, which as it happened was next to Harry.

Harry obviously felt a bit bad about his sarcastic muttering and smiled kindly at here, prompting glances between the remaining members of the table.

"Oh for gods sake can we just get on with it please" without looking away from Ruth Harry realised he must have been staring a little too long although knowing Ros it may only have been a couple of seconds.

He looked up and the meeting continued but from Ruth's face he could see that unusually for her she was completely lost in her own thought and paying no attention to what was going on in the meeting at all. He would give a lot to know what she was thinking at that moment.

Ruth had no idea what was going on around her, instead her mind was filled with images of Harry, naked and definitely doing things that he shouldn't be doing and she definitely should not be thinking about at the briefing table.

Zaf could see that both Harry and Ruth were completely lost in each other and so when Malcolm had finished talking he was quick to ask Harry what his views were and much to the delight of Jo and Adam, Harry had no idea what he had just been asked so decided just to nod and defer the question to Ruth. Now it was her turn to look sheepish as she just smiled and said yes she thought that would be an excellent idea. This brought many laughs from the rest of the team and she had to ask what she had agreed to, she was pleased to hear it had only been agreeing to go with Harry on some technical course although when the catch was revealed she couldn't stop herself blushing, it was a weekend course and it started tonight.

After the meeting had broken up and Jo was sitting on Zaf's desk too interested to notice hat Ruth was doing Ruth darted into Harry's office to ask if it would be ok if he left a bit early tonight as she had to get home and pack before leaving for the course. He agreed and said that perhaps he ought to give her a lift down there as it was rather hard to get to the Country House Hotel they were staying at by Public Transport. After a small debate it was decided Harry would collect her at 7pm that evening.

Just before 1pm she managed to pass on most of her work to Jo before bolting through the pods in the hope of getting some new clothes and getting home in time to shower and pack.

Shopping was not one of Ruth's favourite activities but on this occasion it was even more stressful than usual. She had almost finished and only had to buy some new underwear which she planned to get from La Senza when she ran into Harry.

After Harry had seen Ruth leave through the pods he had managed to brief Adam on exactly what to do in his absence and sign a few documents very quickly before exiting to the shops. He had no doubt that the team were up to something and that there was quite possibly more to this course than they were letting on they had after all been already assembled before he arrived on the grid which had in truth been just a few minutes before Ruth.

"Fancy meeting you here, I would have thought you would be on the grid till the last possible moment!"

"Oh you know how it is, just a few last minute things I needed to pick up for the weekend" Ruth found herself blushing as he surveyed the large number of bags she appeared to be carrying, "I take it you had to pick up a few things to" he said with a smile.

"oh yes well I just want to be prepared for all eventualities" she stammered.

"And what sort of eventualities would those be Ruth, I don't really see a whole new set of underwear as necessary for an IT course" pointing to the sign above the doorway which she had been just about to go into before he had called her name.

If it was possible Ruth turned an even deeper shade of red however she surprised herself and suddenly found herself saying "oh you never know you mind find you appreciate it someday" and with that she turned around and walked into the shop.

All Harry could manage in return from this surprising if somewhat suggestive remark was "see you at 7 then."

**Will there really be a technical course at this country house hotel or might they just have been set up?**


	3. Chapter 3

Ruth immediately regretted has someone rash statement but as she looked around as she walked into the shop she was pleased to see Harry looking slightly abashed but smiling to himself.

She managed to complete the underwear shop in a surprisingly short amount of time and was pleased to avoid any further run ins with Harry. She was now slightly nervous as to what the weekend would entail and thought she had best pack for all occasions. It was 5pm by the time she got home so she ran a bath whilst she tried to fit all her clothes into her somewhat undersized suitcase. By the time she had managed to pack the bath was just short of overflowing and almost scalding on her skin but she sat it out in the hope it would calm her ever growing nerves!

Harry arrived at 7 on the dot, which was no surprise. Ruth ran downstairs and let him before shouting back down the stairs that he was welcome to make himself at home in the living room. Harry couldn't help but smile to himself it was so like Ruth to be late and her house was just so Ruthish! It was an organised clutter, photos suck like a collage on one wall of her deep read living room, very similar to the colour of the wall in his office. He wandered over to look at the photos and in amongst the family pictures and Ruth in her younger days (god she was beautiful he thought to himself) were those of the grid Christmas party last year, including the rather unfortunate one of himself and ruth under the mistletoe, not his most flattering angle. Adam and Zaf had ever really let him live that rather over passionate kiss under the mistletoe down. The more he thought about this technical course the more doubtful he became, he had heard nothing of it before this morning and he had interrupted several group huddles in the past week only for the chatter to stop.

Eventually Ruth reappeared in the door way and he was able to take in fully what she was wearing, a rather low cut blouse and a slighty gipsy style mid calf length skirt, in fact she looked even more stunning now than she had when she was at Oxford. Shall we go she asked, he was still so much in shock that all he could do was nod his head in consent.

She was pleased she could have this effect on him, but to be fair he did the same to her. The journey was much less awkward than she had expected they chatted comfortable before stopping for dinner at a service station. She hadn't really expected Harry to be the service station type but she supposed that when driving down the motorway there was exactly a wealth of choice.

Ruth must have fallen asleep in the middle of his story but surprisingly he was far from offended instead he enjoyed the occasional glance across at her calm and rested face. In their job it was rare for one to look so calm and carefree but Harry wished he could know what she was dreaming about.

Eventually they reached the hotel and walked over to the reception. When he gave his name he was assured of his booking and handed a key, but when he enquired as to his companions room he was told that only one room was booked and that the rest of the hotel was fully booked. Jo had been unsure of booking them only a single room and had thought it might be pushing it but Adam and Zaf had been insistent that it was just the push they needed. Harry dreaded the conversation in which he would have to tell Ruth that only one room had been booked as she was waiting on the other side of reception.

**How will Ruth take the news?**


End file.
